Monitoring and Cumulative Effects Assessment of the Grand River
Mark Servos, University of Waterloo
The Grand River is a large watershed in southern Ontario that drains into eastern Lake Erie. This project focused on understanding natural variability of the watershed and the relationships among biological, physical and chemical processes. Researchers investigated nutrient inputs, oxygen dynamics, community composition and function of macroinvertebrates, as well as fish population level and individual fish responses. Results concluded that water quality monitoring may not be able to address the complexity of emerging chemicals. The research reinforced the need for multiple indicators of biological function in order to assess change across the watershed. Predictive approaches that move toward cumulative effects assessment are needed.
